Lapse
by ItsBatmanBitch
Summary: Clark leaves Earth to fight Darkseid in Apokolips. With Superman gone, the world is chaotic & loses hope. Everyone in the JL turns to Lois for leadership & she becomes Superwoman, trying to save the world from itself & coping with her own depression.
1. Prelude

**A/N: This is set after season 10. Lois and Clark are already married. He has already become Superman. Since Smallville hasn't ended yet, i can't be sure that they'll defeat Darkseid or not.. but for the purposes of my story, Clark has to leave Earth to defeat Darkseid. Anyway.. on to the first chapter. **

**P.S - I do not own any Smallville/Superman characters. I wish i did though. Especially Ollie and Clark.**

* * *

It had been months since Lois had felt any sense of humanity left in her, any sense of emotion, any sense of feeling. She was an empty shell. Going through the motions but not really living. She had lost everything.

Sitting at her desk in the Daily Planet, she sipped her coffee and stared at the empty desk in front of her. She knew that it was pointless, keeping up the ruse, but she couldn't bear to admit to anyone that he probably wasn't coming back. Everyone at the Planet thought that Clark had gone to visit family in Italy. She had fabricated the story when she thought that he would be back in a few weeks.

It had been almost half a year and there hadn't been a word. The strangest thing was that no one even noticed that it had been that long. Clark had become so good at playing the quiet, bumbling, mild-mannered reporter, that no one really noticed him even when he was here, much less when he was gone. Not to mention that without Superman around, things were a lot more hectic at the Daily Planet. Crime rates had gone up, people were losing hope and reporters had story after story to publish.

The worst part was that Lois didn't know what happened to him. Clark promised he'd be back in a few days… maybe even a few weeks. No one wanted him to go alone, but he never gave them a choice. Chloe thought that he was probably dead, though she'd never say as much. Lois couldn't stand to let herself think that. She needed to believe that he was alive somewhere. Even if they weren't together, she needed him to be alive.

Looking at the empty chair in front of her always formed a lump in her throat. She knew better than to look at the chair but sometimes she couldn't help it. The week after he left, she decided that she would not let anyone see how much his absence had affected her. She needed to be the strong one. Not just for her friends, but for the world.

Just then, her assistant dropped a stack of papers on her desk, snapping her out of her reverie. Startled, she looked up at him before getting a chance to collect herself. Her emotions were written plainly on her face. There was pity in his eyes. He might not have known why she was sad, but he clearly saw that she was upset. He probably could have guessed that it was because she missed Clark. She hated that. It bugged her to no end when people gave her that look. The only person who never looked at her like that was Ollie. He knew what it was like, so he treated her the same as always. She liked that.

"I'm done for the day so I'll look at those papers tomorrow," she said as she got up. He just nodded and walked away.

She took her cell phone out of her drawer and saw a text from Ollie telling her to meet him in Watch Tower. "Duty calls" she whispered under her breath. "Thank god" she thought.


	2. The Undeveloped Story

**AN****: Thank you guys for reviewing. I really appreciate it :))**

**P.S. - I do not own any of these characters, sadly.**

* * *

The room was small and dark. It used to be just a storage room for Chloe to leave broken keyboards, laptops, cell phones and other junk. Lois turned it into her personal changing station. Oliver offered many times to have the room renovated but she liked it the way it was. Musky scents, poor lighting and all. It seemed fitting.

She opened the closet and took the black garment bag out. Bruce gave her the 'suit' after she announced to the Justice League that she was officially joining the League as a hero. No one went against her, though she knew many of them disagreed with her decision. They were all scared of her, which was strange considering they were all super-powered and she wasn't.

Her 'suit' was black, practical and bullet-proof. Thick black jeans, knee high boots, a tank top with Superman's shield and a leather jacket. Her outfit reminded Lois of one of Clark's Blur outfits from a few years ago.

While still adjusting her mask, she went into the main room at Watch Tower to find Ollie and Dinah video conferencing with Bruce and Diana. The latter pair had gone off to the Middle East last week to deal with a dictator with more than a few screws loose. They always ended up on missions together. Lois suspected that they might have feelings for each other. Her past self, her normal self would have done everything she can to get to the bottom of their feelings and figure things out for them. Now, she didn't want to deal with anything that resembled any type of relationship.

"Looks like we're going to be here for another week. The situation was worse than we thought." Bruce stated. Diana looked concerned next to him but she didn't say anything.

Sighing, Oliver replied "Fine, just let me know if you guys need back up. I mean it Bruce, if you need help please ask. It's what we're here for."

The screen shut off as soon as Bruce gave a quick nod. Dinah turned around and looked back at Lois.

"I didn't hear you come in"

Lois shrugged and walked past her and Oliver, straight to the closet where the weapons were kept.

"So is there anything specific for tonight or we just patrolling?" Her own coarse voice surprised her. She didn't talk much these days and when she did, it sounded so strange, so alien. Clark used to tease her for talking too much. If only he could see her now.

Oliver turned away from the computer and looked at the two women. "Last night, Chloe was able to intercept a few phone calls between some Intergang members that we have been tracking for the past few months. They're planning to stage a fake bombing in LuthorCorp Plaza tonight. Apparently, Lex has top secret items in one of the vaults in the basement. They're going to stage a bomb threat and tell Luthor to pay them out. They seem pretty confident that Lex will pay them to protect his vault. Knowing Luthor, nothing in those vaults can be good." He paused for a second and looked at Lois. "We need to stop the bombing and somehow get to that vault"

Intergang was the leading mob organization in Metropolis at the moment. A man named Bruno Mannheim was in charge of it now, after the previous owner, Morgan Edge was found dead. No one really knew how he died. Many suspected Lionel Luthor to be the killer, who himself had died years ago when his son, Lex threw him out of a building. Bruno Mannheim had shot Clark two years ago. Lois couldn't wait to get her revenge.

"Alright.. So what's the plan? I'll take care of Bruno and his mentally deficient lackeys and you guys go after the files?"

Oliver snorted. "Lois, you're not going to take care of them yourself. I'm going with you and Dinah is going after the files." He studied her facial expressions for awhile. He seemed to be searching for something. It made her uncomfortable.

Ignoring his questioning glance, she rolled her eyes and started for the door.

"Let's not waste any more time then." With that she adjusted the last of her weapons and headed out the door.

Dinah and Oliver both sighed but followed their 'fearless' leader out of Watch Tower.


	3. Suckerpunch

**AN: So this chapter sort of took me a while because i couldn't really decide what if i wanted Mannheim to be a random character or if i wanted him to be important to the story. I guess you guys will find out later. Thank you guys for you reviews :) I love hearing your input/thoughts. **

***Btw you might have noticed that Lex is kind of alive in the last chapter. Don't worry i will explain this all in a future chapter. All you guys need to know now is that he came back and for his own reasons, didn't reveal Clark's identity. Again, i'll explain this all later. Anyway, on to the chapter. **

**P.S - I don't own any of the characters. **

* * *

Lois skidded her brand new motorcycle to a halt a few blocks away from LuthorCorp Plaza. She got there before Oliver and Dinah did in their car. The police cars weren't far behind. They had probably just gotten the call about a group of men holding hostages in the building; and there was a big chance they had no clue Intergang was behind it.

Oliver pulled up next to her and got out of the car. He took out a map and highlighted all the routes that could lead to Lex's vault in the basement of the building. Lois was only half listening. Her main objective was not some stupid item that Lex had hidden away somewhere.

"Is everyone ready?"

The three of them nodded and split up. The plan was for Lois and Oliver to go in through the front to cause enough of a distraction for Dinah to slip into the building's basement completely unnoticed. No matter what happened tonight, they all agreed that it would be best that Luthor didn't know they had taken something from his vault.

* * *

"Stay on the ground and don't move. No one has to get hurt but we will not hesitate to pull the trigger if one of you so much as flinches" bellowed Bruno Mannheim. Hearing his voice made Lois's skin crawl.

Opening the front door making as much noise as she could make, Lois sauntered into the main Lobby. Several security guards were tied up to the pillars on the side of the room, while a few secretaries and other staff were laid down on the floor. There was an average sized man standing in the middle of the room pointing a handgun at a dainty secretary lying on the floor, shaking from fear.

The man had dark hair and a thin mustache. He wasn't tall but he radiated a confident presence that might have intimidated someone else. Not Lois. All she could see was a pathetic man trying to cheat his way in life by making others suffer. As she walked towards him, a look of recognition appeared on his face.

"Superwoman?" He paused and for some reason Lois stopped. She stood there in front of him, interested to know what he would do next.

Superwoman. That's what the people called her after she had made a very public announcement that Superman had skipped town. Oliver had introduced her as such and it stuck. Not that there was anything 'super' about her. All she had on her was training in physical combat from all those years as an army brat and all the expensive gadgets that Bruce and Ollie provided.

Mannheim studied her, recognizing her from somewhere but not being able to place where. "I can't say it is a pleasure meeting you. Under different circumstances, maybe. Not these. I can't have you spoil my plans. Now can I?" He gave her a smirk that only reminded her of a venomous snake.

As quickly as he could, Mannheim pointed his gun away from the hysterical woman on the ground and pointed it at Lois. Before he could pull the trigger, she roundhouse kicked it away. There was no hesitation in her movements, in the past half year, fighting has become as natural to her as breathing; not that she couldn't hold her own before, she was just better at it now.

Taking advantage of his hesitation at just having lost his weapon, Lois kicked him in the chest. He skidded against the marble floor until he crashed into the nearby wall. Out of the corner of her eye, Lois saw that Oliver had already entered the room and had taken on the 6 other mob members that were there.

Turning her attention back to the man that was struggling to get back on his feet, Lois closed in on him and was about to take him out of the room, giving him over to the cops that she heard arriving outside.

Mannheim suddenly gasped and then started laughing.

"The idea of going back to jail is that funny to you?" Lois asked with as much coldness as she could muster.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Before you were this, you were Stiletto weren't you" Mannheim had a crazed look in his eye. He barely got out his sentence in the midst of his laughter. Lois stared at him, not really sure what to do next. "How's that pathetic hero wannabe doing? Remember? The one that jumped in front of that bullet for you? Is he dead yet?"

There was a pain in Lois's chest. She had been the reason that Clark had gotten shot. In her attempt to get a front page story and get in touch with the Blur (Clark's hero name before she came up with a better one), she dressed up and pretended to be a superhero named Stiletto. As always, her ill-considered actions got Jimmy kidnapped by Mannheim and his men. When Clark tried to save him, he unknowingly super-sped into a room filled with kryptonite. Lois had swooped down as Stiletto in an attempt to save the boys but Mannheim had pulled out a gun and shot at her when her guard was down. Clark had jumped in front of the bullet, knowing that he could have died because of the kryptonite. It was the first time she saw how much Clark really cared about her. The biggest feeling she got from the whole experience was guilt. Guilt that yet again, her reckless, inane qualities had landed other people and herself in life threatening situations.

Mannheim's maniacal laugh snapped her out of her thoughts. She leered at him as she noticed the look of pure joy on his face at the memory of shooting Clark. His gloating attitude made her livid. It was as if her blood was boiling inside of her, fueling her rage, filling her vision with a red tint. Bloodlust. She'd never experienced such fury in her entire life. Hands shaking, she grabbed Mannheim by the throat and pressed down hard, making it difficult for him to breathe. He continued to laugh.

"What? You're going to kill me now?"

He barely got the words out seeing as Lois's hand kept adding more and more pressure. She despised the man in front of her. Not only did he bring harm to people, but he took a sick and twisted enjoyment out of doing it. It disgusted her and provoked her anger even more. She wanted to rip him apart, limb from limb. In her head, she imagined stabbing him with the small knife hidden away in her boot. She imagined thrusting the blade into his stomach, twisting it to cause more pain and damage. All the anger and frustration she had from being left abandoned, as if she meant nothing, from feeling like she'd been forgotten, cast aside like some dirty rag - she wanted to take it all out on him.

It would be easy. He was evil. He caused others pain and harm. She looked at him and saw that there was a weird spark in his eyes, almost as if he wanted the sweet release of death. Even then, Lois knew that she could never do what she had just imagined. She would never be able to take a life. Even before she had met Clark, she could never imagine being that person that puts the light out in someone's eyes. Her unwavering resolution had only gotten stronger when she saw Clark's virtues and his belief that people were generally good, just often misguided. She just wouldn't do it.

Lois hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she exhaled, having come to a decision. She took one more look into Mannheim's face and punched him hard enough to knock him out.

Slowly moving away from the unconscious body, she got up to her feet. She looked down at her hands to see that they were still trembling. To try and calm herself, she started breathing deeply.

"You okay there Superwoman?"

Lois looked up to see Oliver standing a few feet away from her, with an expression on his face showing that he had been watching her with Mannheim. Had the circumstances been different, she would have probably snorted at him calling her Superwoman. It was weird to hear those words come out of her friend's mouth. Right now though, she was too shaken. The wrath that came from her was the most emotion she had had to deal with in a while. The invulnerability she felt now was unbearable. She wanted to leave right away, she wanted to be alone. But she doubted that Oliver would let her off the hook so easy after what he had just witnessed.

She nodded and started for the door with Oliver trailing by her side. Stepping out into the crowd of police officers, Lois felt out of place. There were so many people around her, when she was feeling like she could break down at any minute. It made her anxious. She stayed silent as Oliver talked to the police officers telling them that the criminals were unconscious and waiting to be arrested.

Lois tuned almost everything and everyone around her out. She was there, by herself. And then suddenly she felt like someone was watching her. The stare was invasive and unsettling. She needed to know who it was coming from. She raised her eyes, scanning the crowd until she met a pair of eyes that were burning holes in hers. Standing but a few police cars back was Lex Luthor. His piercing gaze made the hairs on her skin stand on end. The look on his face could only mean one thing.

He knows, she thought. He knows it's me.


End file.
